Jump to content
Find Professionals    Deals    Get Quotations   Portfolios

guojiawen

Members
  • Content Count

    776
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    11

Everything posted by guojiawen

  1. haha no worries. btw i just realised the icon is named as rolleyes. no such intention.. so don't be mistaken! and yes, key collection! now look out for HDB letter for application of HLE first
  2. Totally agree that the vibes must be right and must be able to "click" with the ID. Else will be really tough down the road.. Jiayou for your search for the ideal ID!
  3. Hello! *big wave to fellow neighbour* I just double checked, it's the correct floor plan, coz have the 2 additional window in living room Hope to see you around and all the best for your reno too! I'm still eagerly waiting for keys now.. LOL.
  4. Documenting the process we took for our choice of ID. Key things we looked out for in order of importance 1. Cost taking into consideration workmanship - bo bian since reno is expected to cost quite a bit 2. How comfortable we were relating to him/her - very impt since we need to relay our hopes & expectations for at least 2mths for the reno period, and even before & after e reno 3. Experience and responsiveness of the ID 4. Portfolio After contacting 15 different companies (realised it's this many only when i traced through my email archives!) with what we hope to do and our budget in Oct 2013, we waited for the responses. Am not going to list down all of them here, but we had to send reminder to at least 5 of them before they replied (i think a few never did reply). Maybe at that point our project was still 1/2 a year to getting keys and they were busy with projects on hand. But non or slow responsiveness is a big no no for us. Even a few who replied within a week, but failed to follow up promptly after our follow up questions was also struck off our choice. If cannot even reply emails, how to trust in handling the entire renovation that stretch over two months? If MIA will be worse. Maybe this is why we had an easier time shortlisting. We eventually met up with only 6 IDs. So a point to note for new homeowners, if possible (and can curb excitement), try not to request for quote too early. Busy big ID firms will not reply as our project is not on their priority. Plus if it just happen to be a busy period, their responses will be delayed and result in negative impression as well. But then again, if they can manage their projects and time well, I don't see why replies cannot be prompt. Really depends on how much importance we place on responsiveness I guess.. The 6 IDs we shortlisted (again w/o names as it can be sensitive - can PM me to ask if really keen) are as below: ID #1 Did up the house of my husband's friend and my ex-colleague. Cost was reasonable Highly raved in renotalk forum Experienced Informed us when he is busy and when he can reply us (to prevent misunderstanding of slow responsiveness) Reason for dropping: Charges GST. Which is a 4 digit amount for the amount of reno we had to do.. Otherwise we would have engaged him. ID #2 Prompt in replies for all emails Cost was reasonable Only in the field for 2 years No 3D drawings (As a form of saving cost for us. To pay if we want them) Reason for dropping: Met up as we were impressed with the responsiveness. However, lack of experience and concerns about lack of 3D drawings made us decide to drop this ID. ID #3 Prompt in replies for emails Cost was on the higher end but providing BLUM hinges More than 5 years of experience Sales talk and try to "upgrade" what we originally wanted to do but is a friendly chap Reason for dropping: Higher cost when compared to other IDs for the same amt of work required. Suay things happened both times after we met this ID (I know this is not his fault.. but I am pan dang.. so.... dropped him). ID #4 Prompt in replies for emails Cost also on the higher end but providing BLUM hinges Soft spoken (worried about him handling workers under him) Less experienced than the other IDs Also a friendly chap Reason for dropping: Higher cost when compared to other IDs for the same amt of work required. Soft spoken and we are afraid he cannot manage the workers under him. ID #5 Prompt in replies for emails Cost is reasonable but shot up after we changed a few things About 2 years experience in the field Reason for dropping: Lack of experience and can't really click. ID #6 The ID we selected Though not v responsive over email, whatsapp replies have always been prompt (so what i do is whatsapp to update whenever i emailed to ensure email is well received) Over 30 years of experience in the field as their parents started out as a carpentry company Brothers ventured out to do interior design, but carpentry work is in house by parent company Both very hands on individuals Reasonable quotation and good workmanship Flexible with requests (even with areas like payment terms - likely as they own the company) Recommended by a fellow neighbour from our FB estate grp So far, everything is good. Only con is there's not much online reviews I can find, so it's up to individual's comfort level to engage them. Hope my review help for those who are looking for your IDs at the moment! Will continue to update my experience with my current ID. Have already emailed him my preferred choice of carpentry colour and wall paint colour. So the next step is to wait for the 3D designs. Really can't wait! =D
  5. Hi Sappyd, yup the cost includes air con. But i already opted for HDB tiles and doors, so those were not included in our quotation
  6. I like your dining set! Can share where you bought and how much it costs? Thanks
  7. Thank you Will take note during the installation of bathroom accessories.
  8. Btw realised i missed this out in the above post. For all the carpentry work, it comes with white internal PVC (unless otherwise stated), ABS trimming and soft closing hinges (non-branded). So if looking for BLUM hinges, cost may differ quite a bit. Don't think they are registered company for BLUM system as well. HTH!
  9. Love the idea of a bathtub, but sadly hubby don't see the need.. Managed to convince him for rain shower though! Looking forward to more sharing of ideas through your reno blog
  10. Hello! We have the same floor plan! Just that mine is turn right instead of left.. Are we in the same estate? Anyway, sorry to hear about your experience, may you find a reliable ID soon.. Looking forward to more sharing of ideas. Cheers
  11. Welcome and all the best for your reno! Looking forward to sharing of ideas
  12. Though my keys are not here yet, there's helpful neighbours in our estate FB page who already uploaded pics. So took from theirs to share first I took HDB's tiles and doors (hope they don't make me regret). So my house should be 95% identical to what my neighbour uploaded. Living Room Kitchen Service Yard Bomb Shelter Corridor to bedrooms Bedrooms Toilet Reason I say hope HDB don't make me regret getting the tiles and doors from them? My ID shared when checking the flooring for another neighbour who engaged him, a large number of tiles in the middle of the living room was jutting out pretty badly. In the end my neighbour had no choice but chose to overlay with new tiles, adding on another 5k on top of what was paid to HDB for the tiles. But again, he did mention that he seen another unit without such a problem. So we're crossing our fingers really tight that our unit is done swee swee!
  13. Hi Takaishi, Can PM me your email so I can email you?
  14. Thanks Songz. You are renovating your house soon too right? All the best and wishing you smooth reno too!
×